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Romney Says Rubio Is Being Examined as Possible Running Mate

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Romney Says Rubio Is Being Examined as Possible Running Mate

By Ashley Parker June 19, 2012 6:43 pmJune 19, 2012 6:43 pm

HOLLAND, Mich. — If Senator Marco Rubio of Florida wasn’t being vetted by Mitt Romney’s campaign as a potential vice presidential nominee at the beginning of the day, he sure is now.

Richard Perry/The New York TimesMitt Romney told the press that his campaign was vetting Marco Rubio at a campaign event on Tuesday in Holland, Mich.

At the end of a day of campaigning, Mr. Romney addressed a report by ABC News that had dogged him all day — that Mr. Rubio was not being seriously considered as a possible running mate.

“Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process,” Mr. Romney told a small group of reporters here, calling the original reports “entirely false.”

Though Mr. Romney and his campaign — including Beth Myers, the longtime adviser charged with supervising his search for a running mate — had stayed largely mum on whether Mr. Rubio was being considered, the campaign added an unplanned event. Gathering the press pool, the campaign loaded reporters onto a bus and drove them to a nearby ice cream shop, where Mr. Romney strode to a podium and made a brief statement, taking no questions afterward.

“There was a story that originated today apparently at ABC based upon reports of supposedly outside unnamed advisers of mine,” Mr. Romney said. “I can’t imagine who such people are. But I can tell you this: they know nothing about the vice presidential selection or evaluation process. There are only two people in this country who know who are being vetted and who are not — and that’s Beth Myers and myself. And I know Beth well. She doesn’t talk to anybody. The story was entirely false. Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process.”

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